Changing of the Spark
by QuickStrike15
Summary: Depth Charge comes face-to-face with himself! What will he find out about the bot he is inside? Sixth and last in the series.


Changing of the Spark  
  
WRITTEN BY  
QuickStrike15  
(TieanBrice@aol.com)  
  
Depth Charge emerges from a warp hole.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Okay, my systems are back at full power. As for where they are at full power..." He scans the land, and identifies a rocky range. He looks behind himself, and sees the top of a mountain. "Okay, up on a mountain, let's see this thing from the bottom. Beast Mode." He transforms, and flies down to the foot of the peak. He hovers around, surveying everything. "Hey, this is the same mountain! The Ark is hidden inside, I know it! But I was outside the mountain when I left, why would I come right back to it?" He transforms, and walks the rest of the way, when he hears voices. Surreptitiously, he moves closer, to listen in.  
RHINOX: "One last connection and we should be able to use Teletran 1's forcefield to protect the base."  
CHEETOR: "Let's hope so. The Preds have been blowing holes in our doors on a daily basis."  
RATTRAP: "Eh, what'd you expect 'em to do? Ring the doorbell?"  
OPTIMUS: "Ready, Rhinox?" He nods, and presses a button. Power begins to course.  
RHINOX: "So far, so--" An explosion occurs.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Huh?!" He peeks from behind a rock face to see what's going on.  
RHINOX: "Autobot tech is different from ours. Mixing the two is tricky."  
OPTIMUS: "So much for plan A."  
RATTRAP: "Does that means there's a plan B?"  
OPTIMUS: "We have to salvage Sentinel."  
RATTRAP: "Are you loopy?! The Axalon's in itty bitty pieces! And, uh, underwater."  
OPTIMUS: "Which is why we'll need special help." Optimus activates his Com-Link. "Optimus to Silverbolt, do you copy?"  
SILVERBOLT: "#Silverbolt here.#"  
OPTIMUS: "Any sign of Depth Charge yet?"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Yeah, this is when the Maximals were going for Sentinel. If I'm in the Beast Wars at this point, I must be getting really close to home!"  
SILVERBOLT: "#I am afraid not. I believe he may be inside Megatron's jamming zone.#"  
OPTIMUS: "Hmm. Abort search and return to base immediately."  
RATTRAP: "So much for plan B. I knew we couldn't count on that waterlogged wirehead!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Hey! That's me you're talking about!"  
OPTIMUS: "There might be another way." Rattrap looks at him strangely.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I've gotta see this." He skulks along after the Maximals.  
  
***  
  
Everyone gathers to witness Blackarachnia's scientific feat.  
RATTRAP: "Ha-ha, heh, what the heck is it? Besides ugly?"  
BLACKARACHNIA: "It's a sub-aquatic stealth vessel, garbage-breath! It's powered completely by hand. No noise, no energy signature."  
RHINOX: "Clever."  
OPTIMUS: "It should do the job."  
BLACKARACHNIA: "Naturally. So when do I leave?"  
OPTIMUS: "You don't."  
RATTRAP: "Oh, no! If you think that I'm getting inside that Predacon beachball, you've got your wires crossed, Fearless Leader!"  
OPTIMUS: "Blackarachnia wouldn't know what to look for. And you're the only one small enough to fit in it!"  
RATTRAP: "Eh! No way! I ain't no water rat!"  
OPTIMUS: "Without a shield program to guard the base, we're trapped in a defensive position. This war could go on forever. We'll never get back to Cybertron."  
RATTRAP: "Eee! Doh! You just had to say the 'C' word, didn't ya? Okay, okay!" Cheetor smiles. "What are you grinnin' about, Litter-butt?"  
CHEETOR: "I was just thinkin', with you inside, that'd make a swell cat toy." Rhinox laughs. Rattrap hangs his head.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I'd better get ready to follow the Maximals out to their little field trip. Beast Mode!" He transforms, and lies on the ground. "Now, this is my idea of recon." He waits.  
  
***  
  
Silverbolt flies high above a canyon, with water flowing through it. He carries Rattrap, inside of the submersible.  
SILVERBOLT: "We're approaching the target area. How are you faring in there, Rattrap?"  
RATTRAP: "I'm hot, I'm cramped, I'm airsick! Eh, the next time that big ape asks me to do somethin' for him, man, I am gonna shove my blaster so far up his--"  
SILVERBOLT: "Target dead ahead. Prepare for drop." Silverbolt flies forward.  
RATTRAP: "Drop? Can't we, uh, talk this--" Silverbolt drops Rattrap into the lake. "Oh, man, oh, man, oh, man! This thing'd better work." He starts pedaling, and the water craft maneuvers through the water. "Hey, eh, hey! This is eh, kinda...cool." He starts thinking to himself, as a sea tune pops into his head. Silverbolt hears the odd tune somehow through his two-way radio.  
SILVERBOLT: "Silverbolt to Rattrap. What is your status?"  
RATTRAP: "Hoo-hoo! Just call me rat-fish. Looks like that Pred friend of yours finally did something right."  
SILVERBOLT: "My beloved has many skills. Do you see any sign of wreckage?"  
RATTRAP: "Yeah, plenty of it. All in itty bitty--oh, mommy." He spots a large piece of the war room. "I think we just got lucky!"  
SILVERBOLT: "You found Sentinel?"  
RATTRAP: "Could be. I'm gonna check it out. Just give me a few nanoclicks."  
SILVERBOLT: "Standing by." Rattrap purveys the wreckage, and finds the main computer. He scans down, and spots Sentinel.  
RATTRAP: "Bingo!" He turns a crank above his head, and uses a mechanical arm to go for the box. "No way it could be this easy." All of a sudden, an eel shoots from inside the computer. "Aaah! Get a hold of yourself, it's just some kind of nutty snake thing, nothing to panic about." His radar detects something coming. "Now it's time to panic!" Something large grabs him. "Let me outta here!" He stares face to face at Rampage.  
RAMPAGE: "How droll, rat in a can." He begins to squeeze the small water vessel in his mighty claw.  
RATTRAP: "Oh, Rattrap to Silverbolt, I got a situation here!"  
SILVERBOLT: "Rattrap? I am not reading you. What's wrong?"  
RAMPAGE: "Come out, come out, time to play!" He laughs.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "You wanna play, creep? Try me!" Rampage looks to see Depth Charge spitting energy discs at him. The blasts force the crab to drop the submersible.  
RATTRAP: "Hoo-hoo, Depth Charge! Oh, man! I never thought I'd be glad to see him again."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Better clear the area, mouse. X and I play rough."  
RATTRAP: "Hey, no can do, Cap'n Minnow. I'm on a mission. But you keep that crab off my back for a few cycles, and I will be out of your way!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Deal. But make it quick." He swims over to Rampage. Depth Charge watches from nearby.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "It's true. That's me fighting X down there! But I'm right here! Whoa, this Trans-Warp stuff makes less and less sense every day. What on Earth would happen if I saw myself down here?! Maybe I should clear out, and let me handle this!" He swims out of the lake. Through the undersea battle, Rattrap manages to grab Sentinel, and gets to the surface of the lake.  
SILVERBOLT: "There he is!" Silverbolt flies down to him.  
RATTRAP: "Well, where the heck you been, Birddog?"  
SILVERBOLT: "You got Sentinel! Oh, good work! What happened down there?"  
RATTRAP: "What happened? Rampage happened. Him and Depth Charge are duking it out at the bottom of the lake right now. Now, uh, haul me outta here, would ya?!"  
SILVERBOLT: "Yes. Of course." He lifts the water craft, and flies into the air. "This load is rather heavy."  
WASPINATOR: "Oooh, Waspinator help." He transforms to robot mode, and shoots Silverbolt. The Maximal drops the submersible. "Waspinator, 1, Doggy-bot, zippo!"  
RATTRAP: "Aaah!" He falls, as Depth Charge leaves the lake. Depth Charge sees Rattrap falling to the ground, and bounding between rocks like a pinball.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Wow, that's gotta hurt." Sentinel drops from the vessel's grabber arm. Quickstrike picks it up.  
QUICKSTRIKE: "Get this back to the boss, bug-eyes. I'll handle these here Maxis." Waspinator transforms to Beast mode, and picks up Sentinel. "Sentinel make Megatron happy. Make Waspinator happy, too."  
QUICKSTRIKE: "Yeah, sure was nice of them bots bring 'er up for us, just like the boss said they would."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Hey, this is my chance. I didn't do what I was supposed to the first time, but now I have a chance to change that. If I get Sentinel back, if could change the entire tide of the Beast Wars! Here I go!"  
  
* * *  
  
Depth Charge chases after Waspinator.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "You're not getting away from me, bug-eyes. This time, I'm doing right by the Maximals!" A missile flies out of nowhere, and hits Depth Charge in the underbelly. "No! Ow!" He tries to stabilize, but can't stay aloft. His rockets short-circuit, and he lands on the ground hard. "It can't be! Not again!"  
RAMPAGE: "Oh, it is!" Rampage, in Vehicle mode, comes into view.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "X! Now is not the time!"  
RAMPAGE: "No one is ever prepared for their death. Rampage, Terrorize!" He transforms.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Okay, I'm going to have to wrap this up! Depth Charge, Maximize!" He transforms, and grabs his tail whip.  
RAMPAGE: "No instruments of destruction? No Energon knife to cut out my twisted spark?! I'm very surprised."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I'm full of surprises. Let's go!" Rampage and Depth Charge lock into battle. Rampage gives Depth Charge a hard right in the jaw. He staggers, but comes back with a kick to Rampage's chest. The Predacon loses his balance, but manages to grab hold of Depth Charge's leg.  
RAMPAGE: "I'll rip this off, and beat you with it!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Here, take my tail instead!" He slaps Rampage in the face with his whip.  
RAMPAGE: "Aaaah!" He grips his face with his hands, and Depth Charge gets his leg free. He ducks to the ground, extends his leg, and sweeps Rampage, knocking the giant transformer onto his back.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Sorry, X, that's the way it plays out sometimes."  
RAMPAGE: "It's not over yet!" Rampage spins, and sweeps Depth Charge forward. But before he lands on his stomach, Depth Charge shoots out his arms to break his fall.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Whoa!" Depth Charge watches as Rampage's foot comes toward his face. He flips off of his hands, and backflips onto his feet. Rampage arches his back, and springs onto his feet.  
RAMPAGE: "Don't you understand? I cannot be defeated! You have tried, and tried, and tried, and still I come, closer, and closer, and closer. I am invincible!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Don't get too far ahead of yourself, X. We all know you've got a weakness, and Megatron had already exploited it by the time I got to Earth. Eventually, you will slip and fall in your own mess, and when you do, I'll be there to clean it up. But now is not that time. Beast Mode!" He transforms, and flies off.  
RAMPAGE: "You can't leave! No! The game is far from over!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Man, I've got to catch up with Waspinator. Jets, maximum burn!" His engines kick into high gear. He catches up enough to find Rattrap and Silverbolt behind the wasp.  
RATTRAP: "Hey, you got enough left for a power dive?"  
SILVERBOLT: "Yes. But what?"  
RATTRAP: "Just get as close as you can." He aims his blaster at Waspinator.  
WASPINATOR: "Waspinator having good day! Not get shot once." He gets shot by Rattrap, and is knocked out of the sky.  
RATTRAP: "Let's do it!" Rattrap plunges off of Silverbolt, and Silverolt catches his legs. He then dives, and Rattrap catches Sentinel in mid-air. "Hoo-hoo, yeah, we sure buzzed his bee hive! Nice flying, Bolt." Inferno pushes a tree out of its roots. It falls, and bridges the canyon Rattrap and Silverbolt are flying through. Rattrap smacks right into the tree, and spins around it. He loses Sentinel in the air, but Silverbolt snatches it. Inferno flies up to him, and draws his weapon.  
INFERNO: "Give me the module or burn, Maximal!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Now to take out Inferno, and Sentinel's as good as ours! Depth Charge, Maximize!" He transforms, and aims his blaster. "So long, Pred." He hears a whistling, and turns around. "What's that?" He spots a missile headed right for him, but it's too late, he's hit. He falls to the ground. "That was a heat-seeking missile! No doubt who fired it."  
RAMPAGE: "Miss me?"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Rrr! When will I be through with you?!"  
RAMPAGE: "When you die!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Look, I ended our fight back there. I have more important things to worry about, and our battle is simply unimportant, and stupid! It's gone on too long! I can't do this anymore! I don't want to fight you anymore!"  
RAMPAGE: "Maybe you'll want to when you remember how you couldn't stop me from devouring everyone you ever cared about back on Colony Omicron!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I...rrr...!" He tries desperately to hold his anger. "At least they're not being driven insane by you anymore, creep! They're free from any more pain you can cause. When I came to Earth, I vowed to clean up the Maximal Elders' mess, and finish you off, so you couldn't hurt anyone else someone cared about. And I will live up to that vow, but if I don't help my fellow Maximals now, I could lose them, and I would be the monster causing them pain, because of you! I won't let you corrupt me anymore! I won't let you become my entire life! I can't!" He falls to his knees. "That's exactly what happened to me. I lost myself. I lost myself in you. You became my entire reason to live. I keep going on to make sure you don't. I've truly found the weakness inside, I was weak enough to let you get to me like this. How could I let this happen? I've truly let down my friends, by changing, changing from the friend they had in me."  
RAMPAGE: "How truly sappy of you, playmate. And now, the end. Good-bye!" He lifts his missile launcher, and aims.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "No!" He charges into Rampage, making the Predacon drop his cannon. Depth Charge picks it up, and clubs him with it, several times. He then tosses it aside, and grabs Rampage's neck. "You'll never stop, I understand that. You endure, because of that indestructible spark inside of your core. You'll never stop trying to destroy me, or anyone else, Maximal, Predacon, or otherwise. And guess what...I'm finished. I'm done with you. It ends here. My choice is to stop. You're an evil character, X. You'll get yours, one way or another. But I won't be the one to finish you off if it causes me to lose the last person left for me to care about, myself. So I'm saying good-bye to you!" He shoves Rampage, which causes the Predacon to lose his balance, and fall off of a nearby cliff. "I hope I'm not too late! Beast Mode!" He transforms, and rockets after Sentinel. He finds Rattrap and Silverbolt, with Sentinel. "They got it! But wait...didn't I--"  
RATTRAP: "Hoo-hoo, we did it! Let's get this gizmo back to base!" Depth Charge sees himself coming.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "No! I'm gonna hit them!" Depth Charge flies right into Silverbolt. They drop to the ground. Rattrap loses Sentinel, and Inferno claims it.  
INFERNO: "Ha-ha-ha-ha! Sentinel is ours! The Royalty will be pleased!"  
RATTRAP: "Oh, man, we almost had it."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Not again! I let them down again!" He lands, and transforms to robot mode. "Why did this have to happen? Through all of my time-traveling exploits, I haven't helped anyone! Why?!" A portal opens behind him. He turns to it. "Oh, no, I'm not doing this anymore. I've had with these stupid time holes! They haven't helped me do one thing right! I'm not going into another one!" He turns his rockets in reverse, and tries his best to zoom from the portal, but he gets nowhere. The portal begins to suck him in. "No! Stop it!" The power of the vacuum increases, and Depth Charge is sucked in.  
  
* * *  
  
Depth Charge emerges from the portal, in a small crevice.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "What's going on? Where did that thing take me?" Depth Charge looks down to see the Maximals talking with him. "I must be above the base. But why am I here? I don't want to be! I don't want to see anything else! I'm out of here! Beast Mode!" He tries to transform, but it doesn't work. "Ow!" He feels the space around him. "No, this space is too small for me to transform! Aaah! How do they do this to me?!"  
RATTRAP: "Man, if it wasn't for this fish-faced crab cook, we'd have Sentinel right now!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "It was an accident!"  
RATTRAP: "Oh, yeah? When 'bolt asked you for help, you turned him down! Was that an accident, too?"  
OPTIMUS: "Is that true?"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I was kinda busy with Rampage."  
OPTIMUS: "If you weren't damaged, I'd scramble your circuits!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Don't let that stop you, Primal."  
RATTRAP: "Let me take him, Optimus!" He puts up his dukes, and Rhinox holds him back.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I knew saving your hide was a mistake!!"  
OPTIMUS: "Rattrap?"  
RATTRAP: "Oh, well, yeah, technically he did kinda do dat. Um, eh, thanks."  
OPTIMUS: "Looks like you did give us some help after all."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Don't go gettin' all gushy on me."  
OPTIMUS: "I'm not. You also cost us a major strategic advantage. That's why you can't continue to act as an independent. We need you, Maximal." Optimus extends his hand.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "I'll think about it. This crew sure needs something." He looks around at all of them. Rattrap mutters under his breath at him. He looks to Optimus. He winks, and daps Optimus' hand.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "And that's the day I joined the Maximals. What difference does it make now? They were better off without me. Who knows how well they're fighting Megatron without me, and more importantly, without X. So, it turns out X sealed his own coffin, and nailed me in with him. This is how it's meant to be. I guess I can live...die with that." A portal opens behind him. "Now to get out of this cramped space." He slides into it.  
  
* * *  
  
Depth Charge emerges from a portal, into an odd void.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Where am I? This isn't Earth, it's outer space. What am I doing here?"  
???: "This is not outer space, Depth Charge?"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Who's that?"  
???: "This is a place where we finally have a chance to talk with you."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "The Vok! It's you, isn't it?"  
???: "The Vok's plan only served as a springboard to get you here. You've blocked us out from any other means."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "What are you talking about? Who are you? Show yourselves!" Three spirits appear, in a strange neon blue color, with glowing red optic ports. They appear Cybertronian in build.  
The center spirit speaks. "This is who we are now, Depth Charge."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Now? I don't know who you used to be! Let me go! I want out of this sickening time warp!"  
The spirit to the left chimes in. "Patience. You have done the work, now all you require is the explanation."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "You bet I do! Start explaining."  
CENTER SPIRIT: "As you wish. First, you need know who we are. We come as the representatives of the people you remember from Colony Omicron."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "What?! No, you can't be them. They're dead! All of my friends were killed by Protoform X!"  
CENTER SPIRIT: "We no longer exist in that Universe. We exist in this one now."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "No way! I don't believe you!"  
LEFT SPIRIT: "You need to believe us, Depth Charge. The reason for the Trans-Warp was to send you to another plane of existence, in which we could converse."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Why are you torturing me like this?! I don't want to live in the pain I felt back on that colony anymore."  
CENTER SPIRIT: "That's what we are trying to tell you, Depth Charge. All you've done is live in that pain. We used the Trans-Warp to instill in you some very important life lessons that you continue to ignore. The first, when you first fell back in time and found Cheetor, was to learn that you don't have to prove anything to anyone."  
RIGHT SPIRIT: "The next, when you saw Optimus, was to learn that you can't allow your anger to rule you."  
LEFT SPIRIT: "After that, with Dinobot, you were to learn that it's important to find what it is you stand for, or your life will mean nothing."  
RIGHT SPIRIT: "With Transmutate, the lesson was that the line between good and evil is a thin one, and you can't always count on landing on the right side."  
LEFT SPIRIT: "With Blackarachnia, the lesson was that with love, anything is possible. Surround yourself with those who love you, and there's nothing you can't do."  
CENTER SPIRIT: "And the last lesson was the one you found in yourself. You're not heartless, and you did the selfless thing, joining the Maximals, and fighting in their war for justice and peace."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "You took me all that way for that? Why didn't you just tell me?!"  
CENTER SPIRIT: "It never would have sunken in, your mind was too closed! We had to put you in a vulnerable place, where you didn't know what was the beginning and what would be the end. A place where you were willing to learn."  
RIGHT SPIRIT: "Spending every day thinking about Protoform X, how you would kill him for killing all of us, all of the colony citizens you were in charge of protecting. You've never been able to let it go."  
LEFT SPIRIT: "And we are telling you to let it go."  
CENTER SPIRIT: "Please, don't suffer because of us. We are okay."  
LEFT SPIRIT: "We don't feel pain here, we're not trapped. In fact, we're finally free."  
CENTER SPIRIT: "The life you live in your Universe is only temporary. The life we live here is eternal, and it will continue to re-visit your Universe, gaining as much knowledge, and loving as many souls as possible."  
LEFT SPIRIT: "In a way, we thank Protoform X for what he's done."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "You thank him?!!! You're standing here thanking that psycho for taking your lives?!!!"  
RIGHT SPIRIT: "He didn't take our lives, Depth Charge, he returned them here. What we never got a chance to accomplish in the lives we lead with you, we can always take up in the next lives."  
LEFT SPIRIT: "Protoform X will learn what he's meant to one day, that is how destiny weaves its way."  
CENTER SPIRIT: "Please, Depth Charge, remember this. Don't waste your life grieving over us. We are happy, and we will meet with you again. Life is precious, so don't waste even a second of it. Do what needs to be done, and do what you want to do, for your life, not ours."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Are you sure? You're happy here? You don't blame X?"  
CENTER SPIRIT: "We are positive. Vengeance is unnecessary to us here. One way or another, we all come back to this place, and we all go back to that place, it is the grand circuit. Now, go, Depth Charge, and heed our words. Remember that we'll always love you." A bright light shines behind them, into Depth Charge's optic sensors.  
DEPTH CHARGE: "It's so bright! I--" Depth Charge looks around, to find himself on a mountaintop.  
  
* * *  
  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Huh? Spirits? Where are you? Where am I?"  
CHEETOR: "Hey, you guys! It's Depth Charge!"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "What? Primal? The cat? The mouse? Am I...back?"  
OPTIMUS: "Depth Charge, you had us worried. We didn't know if we'd get you back."  
RATTRAP: "How did ya get back, anyway?"  
RHINOX: "The Vok's machine fell to the bottom of the mountain."  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Well, I'm not exactly sure."  
SILVERBOLT: "At any rate, it's good to have you returned to our ranks."  
BLACKARACHNIA: "Yeah, what Jojo said."  
RATTRAP: "Even if ya do smell like fish."  
TIGERHAWK: "So, what happened? Where were you? What did you do inside there?"  
DEPTH CHARGE: "Just...reflected on the past, so I can start a bright future." Everyone looks at each other and shrugs, as Depth Charge stares into the sky. 


End file.
